Vietnam Voices: 'I kept dreaming the same dream that I was physically blown up' 

I remember the distinct smell of nuoc-mam. We vets know that it's a sauce that the Vietnamese put on a lot of foods like we would use ketchup. It was a putrid smell that took some getting used to. I remember the mountains and their beauty until they were cratered by our air and artillery strikes. I remember the streams, the ocean, the towns, the mama-sans and papa-sans, the pretty girls in their traditional dress complete with umbrellas. I live in Tennessee and summers can be hot and humid, but I remember the extreme heat and humidity there. I sweated constantly for my entire time there except for the time I spent in the Central Highlands. At night, it could get pretty cool up there. I remember the peddle carts / cabs that would sometimes carry a whole family when they were normally intended for one or two people. I remember how surprised I was seeing some American cars there. They seemed to like Chevy's. I remember seeing a '63 Chevy downtown Pleiku. There were also some French cars, I'm guessing left over from the French influence before we Americans arrived. I remember my buddies and how we always carried on a bunch of nonsense and bull sh*t, and giving each other a hard time. I remember the rivalry between the Army (which is what I was in) and the Air Force, Navy and Marines. I remember the bars in some of the downtown areas and getting into fights with guys from other branches of service. Then the next day we'd all be willing to lay our lives down for each other. I know, that's weird, but we were young, dumb and full of piss and vigor. We all had demeaning names for each other, some I can't say in mixed company. 🙂 I remember on my base a soldier that went berserk with an M-16 and injured some people on our base. Never heard what they did with him. I remember all night guard duty guarding a munitions dump and / or a fuel storage depot and feeling so "out there" and "naked" sitting in my guard shack and where a VC could just pick you off with a rifle or run up to you and throw you a satchel charge. I remember thinking that if a mortar comes in and hits this fuel depot, it won't matter if it hits near enough to kill me, because if it hits the right place it will blow everything to kingdom come for city blocks. They tried a few times, but never were able to land a mortar into that fuel dump since it was pretty strategically located. I remember the outgoing artillery fire most nights, and being able to tell the difference between an incoming and an outgoing in my sleep, even though it was hard to distinguish between the two in the daytime when you were awake. And I remember waking up wide awake when an incoming would hit in the night. I remember being told to sit in bunkers until the attacks were over and thinking how dumb that was for not hitting the perimeter and defending it in case there was a sapper attack. I remember said sappers hitting some of the villas in town away from our base where some of our officers were residing and killing some of them. I remember our commanders calling in artillery strikes from some of the Navy ships in the south China sea. If I remember correctly one of the ones that were called was the battleship New Jersey, which at the time was still commissioned. I'm not sure if it still is, I doubt so. I remember the US jets shrieking above us and dropping napalm on suspected enemy positions. And oh man, how could I ever omit the mini guns? They mounted them in C119 aircraft a lot and probably some others that I don't know about. But what an awesome show of truly deadly force. It wasn't a bang, bang, bang like a machine gun,. It was just a constant deafening roar. Tracers every so many rounds and still looked like one continuous stream of tracers. Man, they could cover some territory so fast it was unbelievable! I'm just we had them and our little adversary "Charlie" didn't! I remember how vicious our South Korean soldier allies were and the reputation they had for doing things to their captives that were definitely against Geneva Convention rules. I remember the NVA being a LOT better equipped than I thought they would be. I remember the VC and their sneaky, stealth guerrilla tactics and how they may have a job just like any Vietnamese citizen during the day, then harassing American troops by night with mortar attacks and other nasty little habits. There are many stories about this. I'm sure any Vietnam vet could tell you a few. I remember the indigenous people of the Central Highlands (the Montagnards) and how primitively they lived. Talk about being "off the grid". They were persecuted by the Vietnamese and that's unfortunate. As they say, they never hurt nobody. They just wanted to be left alone. Our unit did work with some of the regional forces made up of Montagnards, but they really weren't a viable force that anybody would fear to see coming. They were tiny people in relation to the normal size of Americans, or even the Vietnamese. I remember going into the Chief's hooch one time when I was in and outside of Pleiku at our team location there, and drinking rice wine through a straw out of a big urn. There were little notches carved inside the urn at certain intervals and once you took the straw and started drinking, you had to drink down to the next notch, or it would be an insult to the Chief. I did my part to NOT insult the Chief and drank it down to the next notch. I was pretty loopy when I got done and the heat didn't help. I took tetracycline for several days after that just in case. Our company doctor would hand that out like candy. I remember driving a lot of my buddies to Cam Rahn Bay for their DEROS and how I felt badly about having to stay while they were going back to the "world". I remember the little Vietnamese hooch girl / house cleaners and how I felt sorry for them. I remember our little hooch girl / house cleaner. She was a beautiful young girl probably 16 to 18 years old. Unfortunately her face had been disfigured from being hit with napalm, I'm sure probably from one of our strikes that missed it's mark or then again, maybe she got caught up in the cross fire. Sad, I wonder what ever became of her. I remember thinking how unbelievably fortunate and blessed we are in the US when I saw how some of the Vietnamese had to live. I saw and whole family living under a piece of tin leaning up against a fence on the outskirts of the town I was near. They had a fire pit to cook on, and I imagine their "bathroom" was on the other side of the fence in the bushes. This is just one of many things I saw to make me grateful for what I had back home. There were many who didn't even have the tin up against the fence as a home! It makes me furious now when I hear some people talking about how BAD we have it in our country. They don't have an inkling of what "bad" really is while they sit there watching their 60 inch TV, while wearing their designer clothes and shoes, talking on their one thousand dollar i-phone or droid and driving their forty thousand dollar car and getting three meals a day with all the snacks they want in between meals. I remember that except for my family welcome home, there was little or no fanfare otherwise. I remember the political climate toward the war and how the media blew that all up for their precious ratings. I remember many guys went' to Canada rather than serve. I remember later that Jimmy Freaking Carter pardoned all of them. I could go on for days but before this gets too political, I'll stop. I hope this doesn't bring up any bad memories for anyone reading it. I just got started writing and couldn't stop.

This is one of the best of these I've listened to. There were a lot of extra detail to the story-telling and depth that a lot of the other vets didn't add.

The most decorated marine in history, General Smedley Butler wrote a book later in life, War Is A Racket. It’s very enlightening, he said All Wars Are Banker’s Wars. It’s a free read online, and I believe every young person should read it before joining any military. I appreciate this man’s honesty, and he seems to be a genuinely good guy....

I am a Vietnam vet thank you for allowing this man to tell his story; thank you Jim for being one of us who does not go around wearing paraphernalia advertising your service . God bless you and all the luck.

These are the best Vietnam soldier interviews anywhere. Thank you!

Thank you to all these vets for putting your lives and souls on the line. As a former infantryman You have my respect, as a citizen you have my thanks. Thank you Billing’s Gazette for these interviews.

Wow, nice stories. By mustering the strength to tell your story pays homage to your fellow “not so lucky” troops.

I am so fortunate.. And I never forget it. I was born in 1957. That year I guess was like hitting the lottery. I'm a retired Chief Petty Officer with 20 yrs of active duty. 1977 to 1997. Never involved in a conflict that placed me in harms way. The Navy was a job to me. A good job.. Jim on the other hand was born just a few years earlier than me and look at the difference it made! The old saying "timing is everything" really fits for all those who went to Nam... God bless them all.

Love listening to these great testimonies. Thank you for your service. Well done sir.

Thank you Jim for your service. These interviews are Fantastic. These guys all deserve our respect.

For what it's worth, Jim Abel, I would lay down my life to preserve individuals such as yourself. Thanks for who you are.

Thank you Mr Jim for your SERVICE, so many criticize and never SERVE!!!! Upmost respect for all you did for our country!

I was on aircraft carriers, i don't consider myself a vietnam vet. I got combat pay etc. and the most valuable lesson i learned was Life is just not Fair. took me a bit of time to climb out of the bottle after i got out, but i'm fine. joined the navy the day i turned 18 and they sent the sheriff while i was in boot camp, because i was not answering my draft notice.

Thank you for your service Jim, and thank you Billings Gazette for making all these videos of Vietnam Veterans trying to explaining the 12 months in the Nam. One thing I learned watching this video was what Jim said about having his M 16 locked up in a room. I must have been in a different Vietnam. Not taking anything away from Jim's story, he had a job just like I had a job. We both did our jobs and came home. This is not what it was really like for the men who had to lay it all down every day. I was a Combat Engineer with the 299th Combat Engineer Bn. I spent 10 months of my 12 in Dak To, in the Central Highlands 68-69. We didn't have M-16, thank god, we had M-14's, the best weapon ever made by the USA. In the 10 months I didn't ever not have a round chambered at all times. We never went anywhere with out our rifle. We the 299th Engineer Bn. defended the fire base at Dak To FSB Nixon pulled the 4 ID out of the area and we were left to get wiped out by the NVA. We were put in charge of defending the fire base, air strip at all coasts. 600 Americans total. May, June, and July 1969 we stood our ground against 25,000 NVA just waiting for us to make a mistake, we didn't make any ,mistakes. We got orders to leave Dak To 7/16/69. The unit, minus 2 companies were awarded the Valorous Unit Award. I thank god for the brave cannon cockers of the 1/92 and the men who were assigned to us from the Americal Division with Dusters and the US Air Force who took care of the air strip. For more information about the Brotherhood of Dak To Defenders Inc. go to www.daktoreunion.com

We all love you vets…. My uncle never came back… you all make me proud

Thancks Jim , we appreciate your service, lost my Brother just after Tet. Near camp Carol. 6/15/68 .

Although I served 5 years after Mr. Abel and only in Thailand, his recollections of how things were in Vietnam during the war brought back many memories and stirred emotions for me, Thank you!

when i was in Nam in 69' i too had straight razor shaves from the villagers of Phu Cat, and all the Vietnamese seemed so kind and light hearted, i knew they wouldn't kill us in the light of day, when the wind blew through the palm trees and everything seemed like peace.

Thanks for answering the call and going Jim. For myself I was 9 in 1970 and you went to war for my country. Good or bad you did it and I thank you for your service. Welcome home.

Im a 19 year old living in texas my whole life, its so hard to believe that folks user to dog on our soldiers. Especially when the draft was in effect and most didnt have a choice. Thank you for your service and welcome home

Interesting to hear Jim speak. It's clear that his higher IQ allowed him to rationalize his situation and sped up the process of accepting the spot he was in. That's not an insult to those who couldn't do as he did. Just an observation about Jim's particular experience. A gofund me should be available to raise the funds so Jim and Duke can take that trip back.

4:35 “Tân An ... oh that’s too bad” that is so disturbing. I can’t even fathom being dragged off to war against my will as a teenager/early 20s and this is my first impression. Respect to this guy.

These guys all earned their peace. PEACE GUYS.

I'm watching this series during the COVID19 in 2020 and want to thank you for doing it. It has been very good.

Fascinating perspective, all of these interviews are priceless. Thank you for your service, Jim. By the way, you look amazing for 69 years old. My cousin was aWO1 and flew Dustoff missions for the 159th medevac unit in 70-71. He's no longer with us and I miss him terribly. Thanks again

Good story from a non combat perspective. Thanks for serving! I went the Coast Guard route at 17 years old to avoid Vietnam. Braver men than I were in Vietnam. There was a saying back then that we'd rather be saving lives in the Coast Guard than taking lives in war. Fact is we were concerned with saving our own lives. God bless all of our combat war Veterans.

Thank you for your service and sacrifices.

I’m very appreciative of all these interviews and have been listening to them a lot lately. Goes without saying I’m also incredibly appreciative of the men who served their country. Thank you to you both

THANK YOU JIM!

Another terrific interview. Thanks, Jim! Thank God for men like you who stepped up to do their part!

Thank you for your service!

Very, very well stated. Most people didn't want to go there but went out of patriotic duty. The statement about being mixed with a crosscut of humanity was a real eye-opener for me as well.

Welcome home Jim and thank you for your unique perspective on life and your service!

Nice interview thanks Jim.

Glad you made it home Jim, hope you are well.

This was very educational, I appreciate a great deal the testimonial and honest answers.

Good interview. Welcome home Jim. Thank you for your service.

Thank you for your service Jim. God bless

Appreciate you. Thank you for your service :)

Thank you for this great interview And Welcome home Brother

Thank You Jim, Welcome Home !

Great interview, Jim is a great guy . Thank you for your service and by the way the movie you were trying to think of is Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket"

I had delivered morning newspapers at age 11 (1966) until autumn ‘68. During that the time I started paying attention to headlines and eventually closer attention to reports. By the time I was 15, I was very tuned in to daily reports. It seemed at the time like the war might continue on and being that I was about 3 years from draft age, I figured I’d better understand what was going on. The tenor of news reports by ‘68-69 was increasingly frightening. Everyday there were TV scenes of more men either in body bags or badly maimed being helicoptered out. This was followed by reporters openly questioning the legitimacy of our involvement in SE Asia as well as often also suggesting our strategy was deeply flawed and lives were being lost because of it. The news didn’t engender a strong sense of patriotism or great interest in joining the military. I was a kid who’d played American Legion baseball, was in their Drum & Bugle Corp, a Scout, and grew up thinking every young man should pay a debt owed to his country through military service. By the time I was 18, I was pretty confused by it all. One thing that I was always sure of though was that I deeply respected everyone who served, and that’s still the way I feel today.

Thanks for your service, Jim.

👻👍Thx for your service Jim.🇺🇸

I respect every story on this channel, but Jim’s interview is a favorite for sure! Thanks Jim!

Great interview...!

Thanks Jim.

Good luck Jim and welcome back, we can see your honest efforts even at only 25 sec

He would have liked the San Francisco bar on Plantation Road in Saigon in 1971, but guess he was back in the world by then. In my SPS TSN base defense unit, he would have fit right in. Just get your job done and make the time go as fast as possible. Glad he made it out in one piece.

Well said Jim A. great honest interview. IMO you are a very intelligent guy. Hope you are doing well. Thank you for your service.

I was never in the military, but I was in some extremely life or death situations including being shot at and having to shoot to save my life. But I think it was actually a car accident that really screwed me up. Whatever it was, I for many years would be going about my business and then suddenly have a tremendous fear that I was about to be hit in the head or blown up or shot. It wasn't specific, it was just terrifying. But after a while I knew it was not true and was all in my head, and would pass. After a decade or so of having this happen it finally did go away. At least, it hasn't happened in a very long time. It used to trigger when I would run over a bag in the road sometimes, I was convinced that the bag was going to explode. Other times I felt I was going to be hit in the back of the head with a bat, or shot in the head. I knew it wasn't real, but the fear was real. My intellect held me together while my body and brain healed. I know that for some people, it hasn't stopped, and might not ever stop. But I can really relate to this sort of post traumatic episodes, and even brain damage that you need to adapt to and retrain your mind to know what is real, and what is not. You are the captain of your ship. In many cases you can reprogram your own malfunctioning program. Databyter

Really good interview. Jim's an interesting guy. His Vietnam experience was a little bit different from that of other interviewees. Funny stories about the barber and hooch girl, and the fish they ate. Funny now. Thanks for sharing.

This dude is great

Thank you for your service. This was a very good, thoughtful interview and I was especially taken aback by the guy with the straight razor. This guy, Jim, was one of the most thoughtful interviewees I gave seen in this series. I espcially want to thank the Billings newspaper for doing these and posting onto RU-vid.

Thank You For Your Service 💞✌️🙏....

Thank you Jim

Can't remember his name, but a marine wrote WarsARacket it's the bankers biggest for profit business.

Great Interview..........Had a buddy named Jimmy.........Vietnam Veteran ..............Thanks for your service..........To our great Country.. , Luv Ya . Jim.

Thank You Jim. Very similar to my time in country.

💪🏼🔥💯❤🙏🏼🕊🇺🇸 thank you for your service.

aloha jim ! Happy Veterans Day today nov11,2023 .. here molokai island hawaii .. mahalo nui sharing your vietnam xperience .. home sweet home

Thank-you Jim you guys are totally BA. I was a weather guy at cherry point NC 83 to 87. A total lightweight.

One of the best.

"I don't think people will remember it". True That. Out.

spent a year and NavSupAct |Da Nang 69-70.. went back for 3 days in 2017 to see my old base....many changes that I could not iamagin....for the better mostly.

What an absolutely decent and honorable man this is. Fine human being.

This man probably sounds pretty much as he always has. Perhaps a bit more understated but he's still himself. He's quite Impressive.

Hi Jim......I was also in the 9th at Tan Tru in the 2/60th......arrived there in May 1970......the unit was packing to go into Cambodia......never went on a mission on the Mekong......stayed in the Cambodian jungle thru September......was blessed to get reassigned to a hospital unit at Cu Chi after the 9th was pulled out of Vietnam and went back to the states......I was also able to get an early out from service......out processed at Oakland......some experience.....

His remark on the racial matters reminded me of something. I was an officer cadet in the RCAF in 1963 and stationed next to Goose AB in Labrador. A US airman took me into the USAF airmen's club. Racial separation was in full force. All the Black airmen were on one side, all the Whites on the other.

A great interview watching during the latest Vietnam, the Ukraine situation.

Absolutely correct

Right on the money with his assessment,I do believe!!!

@40 mins … spot on so sad … smart man

This man is very intelligent and quite perceptive. He still has his sanity, despite that brutal war, he sees the path the US has taken and the bitter fruit it has bore. I hope he is in good health. I'm glad I am only a Viet-Era vet who saw mostly peace but still remembers the jeers, the US was very anti-military back then and the only people with short hair were military or state police.

JIM, were you best friends with Dave Leatherman? I believe I was the typist that typed your airplane ticket to return to the world. You might remember me -my nickname was “Smiley”. Did you ever have an answer to the question, “Is it wrong to be addicted to a dream?”

30 VNA's unliked this but I thank these men for giving us their stories. I can relate to the experience with my degree post college also. I can wipe my butt with it and that will be the most use it's ever given me this far.

great

War is ALWAYS about COMMERCE.

If you was ever over there you never really leave, thank you for your service buddy.

Around 19:57 he makes a good point. The mix of recruits from all over. My thought here is the number of young lads that were still not grown up, not matured, but our government decided that the military should take these boys and do what they did with them. As a citizen of this United States I apologize to all of our veterans for how they were used by their own government/my government. I am ashamed of what the government of these United States has become in this current day!

When ever I hear or see, “Thank you for your service”, I press the ALT key and hear, “Sorry, for your service”.

Starting at 1:01:20 - I had a similar experience at an I Corps base. I needed a haircut, went to the base barber shop, got it cut, and the Vietnamese barber said, "GI want shave?" When I said yes he wrapped my face in a hot towel. I couldn't see because of the towel, but heard the straight razor on the leather strop. I got nervous and froze up. He did the shave, and the neck twist massage, this time without asking first. Couple of weeks later during the night we had a mad minute on the green line, and the next morning they found the barber's body in the wire.

There Was No Training On How To "Survive The Bad Guys" (ie Survive Mortar Rounds).....😭 You Guys Wen't Thru HELL In 'Nam! So Glad You Made It Home!

How do these vets not smack someone who spit on them..

Apparently, one particularly nasty feature of that war that no one talks about was the mosquito problem. It sounds awful. Every guy I have watched in this series has mentioned it.

The story of the barber. Wow

These guys suffered with PTSD long before it was a 'thing'. To make things worse, they were conditioned to think that if they spoke about their problems or couldn't put it past them, they were p*ssies. It's a real shame it played out this way. It's nice to hear these guys speak so openly about their experiences and seem to have come to some sort of peace within themselves.

I looks great for his age. Nice hair an good complexion.

Welcome home

The Stanley Kubrick movie he was referring to is "full metal jacket" my dad was in the Marines and he always said this is the most accurate movie as far as boot camp experience he said they really got it right .

He looks a lot like Steven Spielberg, and shares some of his mannerisms as well.

If you went back where would you go? I spent my Vietnam era tour in Germany. I looked up my old haunts on the internet and they had changed so completely as to be unrecognizable.

23:33 guy in the background glitchy asf 😂😂😂love these interviews tho 💙

Not sure if I'd be related to him, I know part of our family changed their name to Abel a long time time ago. If so our family would have fought in every major war. Maybe not 🤷‍♂️ but it is a small world lol

38:20 full metal jacket!!!! how can the interviewer not know that?

To repeat the same mistake over and over again and expect different outcomes is called insanity.

I hope Freddy ends up calling Jim back one day.

Check your volume next time...

The film he speaks of I think is full metal jacket by Kubrick